5 key takeaways from World Orphan Drug Congress USA
Cromos Pharma’s US BDD Nicole Brenna attended World Orphan Drug Congress USA (August 25-27, 2021) in Maryland. It was Cromos Pharma’s first in-person conference since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read Nicole’s 5 key takeaways from the event.
The World Orphan Drug Congress USA (WODCUS) took place over two days in Maryland (August 25-27, 2021). It was a busy if somewhat different event to usual in-person conferences with masking and social distancing necessary as COVID-19 infection controls remain in place. It was however, an important event for Cromos Pharma which has built up extensive experience in the area of orphan drug clinical trials across a wide range of rare diseases.
Cromos Pharma’s 5 Key Takeaways from WODCUS:
- COVID trials remain top of the agenda for many with several companies reporting issues with recruitment due to inclusion/exclusion criteria.
- Smaller companies with COVID trials reporting that it is difficult to get “a shot on goal” in the current climate as much of the attention is taken by big pharma players.
- Asia-Pac is a hot up and coming region for the conduct of clinical trials.
- Ongoing challenges are being experienced across the sector with patient retention and a lack of diversity in clinical trial participants: dropout rates up to 40% of enrolled patients; >30% of patients drop out before the study end; large numbers of patients are dropping out of clinical trials due to the burden of multiple site visits, travel and costs.
- Decentralized trials were a central topic with discussions focused on:
- Reducing patient burden
- Patient engagement from start to finish including input into study protocols
- Ways to implement patient centricity while ensuring data integrity
- Bringing clinical trials to the patient with direct-to-patient services and home health nursing
Cromos Pharma’s approach to orphan drug development
At Cromos Pharma we have extensive experience in managing all aspects of clinical trials for rare diseases. We take an innovative and flexible approach to ensure the success of our sponsors’ rare disease clinical projects. We do this by:
- Understanding patient pathways to allow us to effectively identify and recruit patients;
- Leveraging our extensive site and investigator network to identify the optimal sites and staff;
- Providing ongoing monitoring and support to sites;
- Employing effective strategies to retain patients throughout studies.
In the last 16 years, Cromos Pharma has contributed to the analysis, design, management and/or conduct of 20+ studies in rare diseases, covering Phases II to IV. Partnering with us means working with an international CRO with a strong track record in innovative trial design, exceptional multi-country patient recruitment and proven regulatory expertise.
READ OUR RARE DISEASE DRUG DEVELOPMENT FACTSHEET HERE
CONTACT US TODAY AT BD@CROMOSPHARMA.COM TO ARRANGE AN INTRODUCTORY MEETING AND FIND OUT HOW CROMOS PHARMA CAN SUPPORT YOUR NEXT CLINICAL PROJECT.
